What the Body Hears: Antoine Hunter on Movement, Culture & Truth

In this powerful episode of Why We Dance, Mia Tate sits down with internationally acclaimed Deaf dancer and choreographer Antoine Hunter (Purple Fire Crow) to explore how vibration, intuition, and lived experience shape his art. Antoine shares: • How movement became his first language • The moment dance saved his life • Hearing vs. true listening • The role of Deaf instinct in teaching • Creating choreography from lived justice and identity • Feeling music through vibration • The impact of the Deaf Dance Festival • Two‑spirit identity, community, and healing • New projects spanning film, galleries, and access Antoine closes with a poem—a reminder that beauty lives in the body, the breath, and the movement we choose. ⏱ Chapters included in video description. Episode Timestamps (00:00) “You Are Beautiful” — Opening Poem (00:57) Meet Antoine Hunter (02:02) Movement as Breath and Survival (04:19) Childhood, Identity, and Belonging (06:15) How Dance Saved Their Life (09:18) Being Seen, Felt, and Heard (11:59) Hearing vs. True Listening (15:55) Family, Community, and Superpower (18:59) Moving Community Through Lockdown (20:32) Urban Jazz Dance Company Origin Story (23:57) Deaf Prison Stories (29:26) Intersectional Identity and Trauma (32:08) How Antoine Creates Choreography (34:51) Feeling Music Through Vibration (36:45) Teaching with Drums and Sensation (37:24) Deaf Vibration Senses Explained (40:01) Leading from Within (42:31) Intuition, Instinct, and Survival (45:09) Two‑Spirit Identity and Expression (51:40) Barriers, Perception, and Seeing Vibration (54:17) Deaf Dance Festival Impact (57:11) Workshops, Teaching, and Access (01:01:33) New Projects and What’s Ahead (01:04:50) A Universal Truth: Listening with the Body (01:06:34) Sponsor Message (01:07:32) “Why I Dance” — Closing Poem